The Goods on Fantasy Hockey

There might be a lockout looming, but that can't stop keeper leaguers from planning their rosters for the upcoming season. I answer another question about which players to keep in this edition of the Fantasy Hockey Mailbag.

Don't forget that you can submit your question(s) by posting in the comments below, by email, and by Twitter.

Ian,

Your help last year with my keepers resulted in first place in the regular season and 4th in the playoffs. Not bad. I was hoping you'd be willing to help again. I whittled my team down to the players I'm considering, and I need to pick any seven of these (I'd prefer to stick with both goalies and probably one defenseman):

Ryan Miller
Roberto Luongo

Alex Edler
Dan Boyle

Joe Thornton
Patrick Sharp
Marian Hossa
Jordan Eberle
Jeff Carter

I have done some analysis and know where I'm leaning, but I really want a second opinion.

Thanks in advance,

Jeff

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Hey Jeff,

Congratulations on first place showing in the regular season, although you probably discovered that your luck can turn during the fantasy playoffs.

That’s a difficult decision you have to make, but it’s still a good problem to have. I’d have to concur with you that you should stick with both goalies and one defenseman. Even with his undetermined situation, Luongo will still end up as a number one goalie somewhere again. So between Edler and Boyle, I’d say stick with Edler. The Canuck has many more years left for your team, as he is 10 years younger than Boyle! In addition, Boyle has experienced two consecutive seasons of declining returns. Still, the 48 points that Boyle scored is nothing to sneeze at, so I understand this may be a bit of a bold move.

As for your forwards, it might be a tossup after Eberle, by far the youngest of the bunch. If you base your decision on last year’s returns, Carter would be the easy choice here. But he was also a lock to score 30 goals when he was with the Flyers. You may have to make your decision based on position scarcity and goals-to-assists ratio, which could make Thornton the odd man out. But it could also come down to the two Blackhawks – Hossa and Sharp. Between them I would take Sharp, whose production has been the steadier of the two over the past five years.

With all that in mind, the objective for most keeper leaguers is to win this season, which is why dropping the lowest-ranked player would be the best plan. That player would have to be Carter. Even though he is sure to rebound from last year’s forgettable Columbus experience with a full season with pal Mike Richards and the defending Stanley Cup champions, what if last season is a sign of things to come?

About The Goods on Fantasy Hockey

My name is Ian Gooding, and this is The Goods on Fantasy Hockey. Given my ability to understand numbers, write sentences, and follow hockey, it’s not a surprise to those who know me that I became a fantasy hockey writer. I started writing about fantasy hockey in 2006 for fantasyhockey.com and became the site’s content editor in 2007. Looking to expand my audience, I joined Kukla’s Korner in the summer of 2011 to create the site’s first fantasy hockey blog.

A few times each week, I’ll provide an article called “Pick Six” where I will write about six players that should either be in your fantasy team’s starting lineup or bench for the upcoming game. As well, I’ll provide the fantasy takes on important hockey developments. You can also email me your questions or comments to gooding74@shaw.ca, or follow me on Twitter.